Extensis Vitae

Chapter 16



“Ah, Mr. Reznik—it’s fortunate you came by. I wanted to speak with you,” Swanson greeted Reznik as he entered the administrator’s office. “Please, have a seat.” He gestured to one of the plush chairs in front of his desk.

Reznik noticed that the scene outside the huge picture window had changed. Whereas before it had been a lake scene, now it was nighttime in what appeared to be the immaculately trimmed garden of a European palace. Carriage lights lit the pathways, and he could see a multitude of flowers arranged beneath fancifully trimmed bushes. A large marble fountain splashed water into a pool in the background.

Swanson continued, “I seem to find myself short of a captain for my security team—what do you say? Interested?”

“Tempting, sir, but I think I’ll have to pass. I actually came to ask your permission to leave through the back portal and return to Colony 13 again.”

“Why the hell would you want to do that?” Swanson asked with raised eyebrows.

“Well, I thought I might be able to assist you with the security situation over there. As we spoke about in the meeting, the remainder of that outlaw band could return at any time since the breach in the wall is still open. I gained some intel from the prisoner that they intend to return in the next two to three days.”

Swanson stroked his mustache. He leaned farther back in his chair and gave Reznik a hard look. “And I don’t suppose by any chance this would have anything to do with your desire to get rid of that kill switch in your head, would it?”

Reznik looked at him in surprise. So he knows about it, he thought. Did he just find out, or has he known about it all along?

“There’s very little that goes on in this facility that I don’t know about, Mr. Reznik,” Swanson said smugly.

“That is a consideration, I must admit. I was going to propose a bargain: I take care of your remaining outlaw problem and seal the breach if you like, and you allow me to take what I need so I can venture to the surface to try to find a solution to my problem.”

“How do I know that you will hold up your end of the bargain and don’t just take off?” Swanson was definitely interested; Reznik could tell from the look in his eyes.

“I’ll let you know when the job is done. As it is, Datalink signals only seem to reach about half the distance to the other Colony. I can set up some communication relays so I can contact you from there, since there doesn’t seem to be any other way to stay in touch. You’ll just have to take my word that the job is done, unless you want to send someone along to verify. If so, that person will need to keep out of my way, though. I know your crews are eager to get to work over there, so it’s a win-win situation.”

“Done,” Swanson said. That was easy, he thought. But now comes the hard part.

“Oh, one other thing, sir: I’ll require the assistance of Rin, the prisoner, to accompany me, along with whatever supplies we need.”

Swanson frowned. “And why would I just release my prisoner?” He didn’t seem very surprised by the request, though. “She’s got a lot to answer for, you know.”

“I need her so I can exploit whatever intel she has in order to deal with the rest of this outlaw gang. I figure I can use her to lure them into a trap. If I can convince her to turn against them and help me take them out, then that’s an added bonus. Once the outlaws are dealt with, I will also need her as a guide on the surface. Like the colonists, she was virtually a prisoner herself, and was probably happy to see those thugs put down.”

“I still don’t buy the ‘she was a prisoner’ excuse,” he said skeptically. Reznik could tell he was mulling the offer over, however.

“I know her prisoner claim sounds far-fetched, but from what I’ve researched, it’s highly plausible. This gang leader—Haze—must have used one of those control tokens on her.” He didn’t mention that the token had been in his possession and that he had returned it to Rin. He doubted Swanson would be pleased to hear that. “She’s cooperated with us the entire time since I assured her that she would receive fair treatment. She hasn’t tried to escape or jump any guards or—“

Swanson held up his hand. “I realize that. I’m in a bit of a predicament here, though—I just can’t allow her to walk away. The people would be screaming for justice.”

And you don’t know what to do with her, just as I suspected, Reznik thought. Aloud, he said, “I could arrange for it to look like she doesn’t survive the upcoming fight. You can use whatever story you like: your judgment is that she redeem herself in combat, or that she be exiled, or even executed.”

“Hmm…you seem to have a knack for politics. Ever thought of becoming a politician?”

Reznik didn’t know if he was being serious or not, but he chuckled. “No sir, haven’t really gotten around to thinking that far ahead.”

“Let’s see, then…” Swanson leaned back in the chair, his hands behind his head, and looked toward the ceiling. “My verdict is that although the prisoner didn’t directly murder, assault, rape, or kidnap any of the victims herself, she is still unwillingly complicit in the crimes of those thugs. By standing aside passively and allowing all of that to happen, I deem her guilty by association. My punishment is exile. If she can assist you on your mission, then fine. Prepare to leave tomorrow, but don’t let word of this get out. I will officially announce my verdict at the appropriate time, which will naturally be after you two are long gone. Once you step out that door, don’t plan on returning here. I would ask that you keep the location of the Colonies a secret from the outside world. This distasteful business has already brought too much harm upon our peaceful lives here. We don’t need to attract any more interest in the Colonies from any outside parties from the surface. Whatever happens up on the surface world is no concern of ours.”

“Are you saying the fate of the people who were kidnapped from Colony 13 is no concern of yours either?” Reznik asked with shock and anger in his voice. “Those people—your fellow colonists—are going to be taken to market like cattle and sold into slavery, and who knows what will happen to them after that.”

Swanson looked at him grimly. “I fear they are lost to us forever. We do not have the necessary knowledge or means to conduct any type of search and rescue mission on the surface. While it is a tragic loss, the selection process of Extensis Vitae dictated that the skill sets were balanced out between each of the Colonies. Doing this ensures that our future society will not lack any critical skills, even if we were to lose one or more facilities. The other administrators and I have yet to discuss an official declaration of loss for that colony.” He sat quietly for a moment before adding, “I doubt those colonists would be able to survive up there and find their way back, in any case.”

“You’d be surprised what a powerful force the survival instinct is,” Reznik said. “Just so you know, I intend to look for those people after I take care of my own pressing matter. If I can help them, I will. Should I send them back to Colony 13, or tell them that they have been written off and are on their own?”

“You would do that? Go out of your way for people you don’t even know?” Swanson looked astonished. When Reznik simply nodded, he said, “By all means, if you are able to rescue them then please send them back to Colony 13. I will instruct my people to set up surveillance equipment and directions for what they should do if that happens. Truly, that would be a miracle.”

“I’m curious—when do you intend to open the vault door and let these people return to the surface world? Aren’t you ready to start rebuilding society yet?”

“When the time is right. And, as we can see from recent events, the time is not yet right. It will be a joint decision between the administrators of the remaining twelve Colonies.” After a moment, he added, “Although I suspect it won’t be too much longer.”

“I see,” Reznik said. So you prefer to keep these people in the dark about the outside world as long as possible. “Well, if you don’t mind, I need to get supplies together and prepare for tomorrow.”

“Of course. Take what you need for supplies. I will have my people get the communication relays ready and the prisoner will be released into your custody. Just remember to keep quiet about all this. Let’s meet in the lower portal room in the morning—say about nine? Will that give you enough time to prepare?”

“That will be fine.” Reznik rose and turned back as he thought of something else. “Oh, one last thing—I think Ms. Wagner would make a great candidate for captain of your security force. Very intelligent young lady—cool under fire, honest, and highly motivated. That would be the type of person I would want as my security captain if I were doing the promoting. Good evening, Mr. Swanson.” Reznik left with preparations to make and much on his mind.